Territory



' (No Moden.)

T. J. BAKE-R.

, v n l vBEnGLVoTHEs, GLAMP.

.N0.413,77 3.\ Patented Oct. 29, 1889.l

@i 4 .Z0 O EN l' WILT/eases 'UNITED ASTATES .PATENT OFFICE.

THEODORE J. BAKER, OF SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH TERRITORY.

BEDCLOTH ES-CLAM P.

SPECIFICATION forming' part 0f Letters Patent N0. 413,773, dated October29, 1889.

Application tiled March 13, 1889. Serial No. 303,086. v(ITO model.)

.To all whom t 1v1/ty concern:

Beit known that I, THEODORE J. BAKER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Salt Lake City,'in the county of Salt Lake and Territory ofUtah, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bedclothes-Clamps; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, andexact description of the invention, such yas will enable others xoskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in `bedclothes-clamps; and it hasfor its object .to provide a device for securely holding the t5bedclothes at the foot of the bed which will combine efficiency andfacility of operation, cheapness of man ufacture,ready applicability toordinary bedsteads, and the presentation of a neat and attractiveappearance.

With these ends in view my invention consists of an adjustableclamping-board arranged transversely across the foot of the bedstead and4connected to the foot-board thereof, and one or more spring holdingdevices inter- 235 mediate of the foot-board and clamping-board forholding the latter iirmly upon the bedclothes, and thereby clampthe samebetween v itself and the mattress. These holding devices, of which twoare preferably employed, 3o are arranged so as to be concealed from viewfrom the inside of the bed when the adjustable clamping-board is raisedto an upright position, and when the bed is unoccupied, as during theday-time, and the clamping-board 3 5 adjusted on the clothes saidholding devices are likewise concealed from view from the outside of thebedstead. These holding devices each consist 4of a spring-rod bent intothe arc of a circle and having rack -teeth 4o formed thereon, one end ofeach rod being connected to the free edge of the clampingboard and theother end of said rod passing through an aperture in the foot-board. Thespring-racks are each held in place by means of a suitable locking orholding device, which preferably consists of a sliding bolt whichoperates in a keeper' Xed on the foot-board.

To enable others to understand my invention, I will now proceed todescribe the same 5o in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhichu Figure 1 is a perspective View of so much of a bedstead as isnecessary to show the application of my improved clothes-clamp thereto.Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse sectional view through the foot-boardand the clamp, showing the latter adjusted to hold the bed* clothes.Fig. 3 is a similar sectional view with the clamp raised. Figs. -i and 5are detached detail views.

Like numerals of reference denote corresponding parts in all the figuresof the drawings, referring to which* l designates the horizontalclamping-board of a bedclothes-clamp, constructed in accordance With myinvention, which board is arranged transversely across the foot of thebedat its lower edge, as at 2, to the foot-board 3 of the bedstead. Thisclamping-board is of such length as to fit neatly between the side postsof the foot-board and of such width as to resemble a panel when it iscoinpactly folded in an upright position against the foot-board, thuspresentinga neat and attractive appearance on the inside of the bed; butwhen this clamping-board is lowered into a position substantiallyhorizontal and forcibly pressed and held down it is capable of so firmlyclamping the bedclothes that they cannot be withdrawn withoutconsiderable effort.

4 designates one of the spring holding-rods, which are arranged at ornear opposite ends of the clamping-board, one end of each rod beingconnected to the unconfined edge of the hinged board, while the otherend of each rod passes through an aperture 6, made at a suitable pointin the foot-board 3f. These rods are made of spring metal, and I haveprovided devices for positively holding or gripping these rods toprevent them from endwise movement when the clamping-board is forceddownward on the bedclothes, thus causing said rods to exert a'pressureon the clamping-board, Which'tends to promote efficiency of the board asa clamping medium. These spring holding-rods are curved longitudinallyand provided with a continuous seeach rack is adapted to engage alocking or holding device 8, that is supported on the foot-board inclose proximity to the aperture 6 therein.

Each locking or holding device consists of stead and is hinged orpivotally connected ries of rack-teeth 7, and with the teeth of ICO asliding bolt 9 and one or more keepers 10, which keepers are fixed tothe footfboard on opposite sides of and in the same horizontal plane asthe aperture 6 in said foot-board, and in one edge of the sliding boltis provided a deep recess or notch 1l, through which the spring-rack canfreely pass without hinderance from the locking or holding device, whenit is desired to raise the clamping-board, and thus fold the latteragainst the foot-board. rlhe locking or holding device is very narrowand lies close to the footboard. The apertures 6 are protected from wearby means of washers 14, which likewise impart a neat appearance totheoutside of the foot-board when the rods are drawn down by theunfolding of the clamping-board, the free ends of the rods having a knobl5, that fits against one of the washers when the spring-rods arewithdrawn.

The operation of my invention is as follows: To adjust the clamp foruse, the clampingboard is lowered into a horizontal posit-ion andpressed iirmly upon the bedclothes at the foot of the bed, and thespring-rods hold the board in the position to which it is adjust-ed, asthe rods themselves are prevented from retrograde movement by thepositive action of the bolts of the holding or locking devices. It willbe noted that teeth on the rods readily clear the bolts of the holdingor locking devices when the rods are drawn downward by theclamping-board, but that the rods cannot slip or return back. To foldthe clamping-board, the bolts are moved so that the deep notches thereinare immediately over the spring-racks, and the board is now lifted orraised against the foot-board, while the racks pass through theapertures in the foot-board without hinderance from the detents.

Changes in the form and proportion of parts and details of constructioncan be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing theadvantages of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a bedclothes-clamp,tl1e combination of an adjustableclamping-board adapted to be hinged to a foot-board, the rods connectedto the clamping-board and adapted to pass through apertures in thefoot-board, and locking devices supported by the foot-board and arrangedto engage the rods to positively hold them against endwise movement,arranged and combined for service substantially as herein shown anddescribed.

2. The combination, with a perforated footboard, of an adjustableclampingboard hinged to the foot-board, the spring-rods secured to theclamping-board and passing through the apertures in the foot-board, anddevices on the foot-board in proximity to the apertures therein forengaging the rods to hold them against eudwise movement, substantiallyas and for the purpose described.

3. The combina-tion of an adjustable clamping-board hinged to theperforated foot-board of abcd, spring-racks secured to the board, andadjustable notched bolts supported in suitable keepers on the foot-boardin proximity to apertures therein, through which the spring-racks arepassed, and adapted to fit into the notches in said racks, substantiallyas and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature presence of two witnesses.

THEODORE J. BAKER.

\Vitnesses:

W. CHAs. PAvEv, J. R. WALDEN.

